Baseball: Wildcats face Cougars in Houston

On Friday, the #6 University of Kentucky Wildcats face off against the #19 University of Houston Cougars in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. Houston is coming into the game, fresh off of a series in which they won two of three games against (then ranked #22) Cal State Fullerton. The games for the weekend will be played at Minute Maid Park, home to the World Series Champion Houston Astros.

Junior Sean Hjelle will be on the mound as the starting pitcher for UK. Hjelle has a 2-0 record with a 0.66 ERA. He is the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year, as well as preseason first team All-American. Hjelle’s dominance is evidenced by his 10.5 K/9 innings ratio. The tall right hander is a great way to start a big series.

(Photo courtesy of Louisville Courier-Journal)

In an article on the UK Athletics website, Coach Nick Mingione spoke about why he is excited about playing in the Classic:

“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is why we are playing there for the Shriners Children’s Hospital,” Mingione said. “I think you know how important it is for our guys to give back to this community. This fall, we held a baseball camp for the local Lexington Shriners Children’s Hospital and also we invited patients from the national one and they came up and we spent a day with them. I’m most excited about that.” (http://ukathletics.com/news/2018/3/1/uk-baseball-ready-for-challenging-rewarding-trip-to-houston.aspx)

This weekend should really showcase the talent that the Wildcats possess, as they face three great teams.

Time: 4:30 pm EST

TV: Astros.com

Radio: 98.5 FM

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